Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to $46K Theft From Dementia Victim

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man has entered a guilty plea in a case involving the theft of tens of thousands of dollars from a woman suffering from dementia and aphasia.

According to Olmsted County Court documents, an investigator from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center concerning multiple transfers of money out of the victim’s bank account. The charges against 51-year-old Jesse Koran Lequia state that the investigator identified 12 transfers into his bank account between late November 2023 and March 2024.

The transfers totaled more than $46,000.

The criminal complaint says the victim was unable to assist in the investigation due to her ailments, but Lequia later admitted to investigators that he had taken money from the woman using their online banking app. The court documents state he told investigators he had a gambling addiction and spent the money at Treasure Island Casino in Red Wing and in Las Vegas.

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Lequia was charged with five counts of felony theft. He entered a guilty plea today to one of the charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

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